A Valentine's Day to Remember
by VendettaAndGrudge
Summary: Ami listens as her friends speak of their romantic experiences on Valentine's Day. She is saddened, remembering the relationship she gave up on. Will her friends' stories inspire her to pursue the love she lost? Or will she fall deeper into depression?
1. Love in the Mountains

Usagi, Chibiusa, Makoto, Rei, and Ami sat at a booth in the Crown Parlor waiting for their usual coffee (and milkshakes in the Tsukinos' case) to be served. Four out of the five girls had mile-wide grins on their faces. This bewildered Ami. She tried to ignore her friends' giddiness and distracted herself by opening one of her numerous textbooks from medical school and rereading the chapter that talked about inflammation of the human mucus membrane. Unfortunately, the study of snot was not as fascinating to the Soldier of Knowledge as the strange behavior of her friends was. Able to bear it no longer, she put the textbook down and spoke up.

"You all seem to be in a good mood today…" she suggested quietly, returning the book to her large handbag.

Makoto flung her wavy, brown ponytail over her shoulder and smiled. "Well it _is_ Valentine's Day."

Ami shook her head and smirked at her own forgetfulness. _Of course._

Her train of thought was broken by their waitress and friend, Unazuki, as she delivered the beverages and stopped to chat about the weather for a few minutes. When she left, Ami turned back to Makoto and persisted to perpetuate the conversation she had started earlier.

"I take it you got a valentine from someone?" she laughed, adding sugar to her recently-served coffee.

Makoto smiled softly and reminisced. "I guess you could say that." The girl stretched her arms over her head and told her passionate tale.

"I went up to the mountains to train the other day…."

Makoto's bare feet pounded the forest trail as she ran. Cardiovascular exercises such as running were common at the mountain dojo. As the woman ran on, her thoughts raced at a speed to match her sprinting. She just didn't feel right.

"_What's wrong with me?"_ she thought silently, jumping over a tree branch that protruded from the dirt. _"I've defeated everyone here at least once. Well… Everyone except…"_

Before she could finish the thought, the forest trail had brought her back to the dojo and she found herself staring at the sparring circle in the middle of the mountain. The winter had long taken the leaves from the surrounding trees and turned the green grass a brownish color.

"There's only one person here I haven't yet beaten." Makoto breathed heavily. "The master himself. Yakushiji-Sensei…"

Makoto winced and felt blood ooze from the sole of her foot. It didn't make much of a difference to her. Bandaging wounds had long since become a perfunctory task. Ignoring the pain it caused when she walked, she made her way to the river to sterilize the abrasion.

As she approached the river, she was stopped by a familiar but always bizarre scene. Master Kakusui Yakushiji sat under the waterfall meditating. The water covered his shaved head and droplets bounded off his muscular chest, making him look like a Shaolin Warrior.

Makoto moved forward to disinfect the gash on her foot, deliberately making a sound as she walked. But Yakushiji did not notice her presence. He truly was at one with the universe. The girl admired the master's determination.

Even as she kneeled to clean the wound on her foot, she found herself unable to stop watching Yakushiji. "He looks nothing like my ex-boyfriend…" she muttered, referring to his naturally tan skin and muscular physique. The cold water continued to crash down onto his body which remained ridged in its hard-achieved discipline. Makoto's head began to feel light.

"My God, he's so handsome…"

She stopped dead in the middle of her thoughts. "I have to defeat him." She clenched her fists. "I can't let some old attraction slow me down."

She turned and saw Yakushiji stand. He had noticed her. When he looked into her eyes and smiled, she remembered coming to the mountains as a teenager and seeking his advice. She remembered how much he had helped her with her training. How much he taught her about becoming one with the world. How much she had loved him.

Makoto turned red remembering this. Yakushiji had never returned her feelings. The last time she had seen him, she was only fifteen. The love could not be pursued as he was five years her senior. But now Makoto was twenty-three. There was a new world of possibility.

The master stepped forward. "Makoto Kino," he said, bowing. "You have returned."

Makoto bowed back. "I have."

The man smiled. "It's been so long. I thought that perhaps your training was complete."

A hawk flew overhead and cawed. Yakushiji continued his greeting. "Not that I'm not happy to see you."

This time, the girl could not stop herself from blushing. "My training is never complete." she dried her foot off on her gi and covered it with a scrap of cloth from her belt.

Yakushiji kneeled down next to her. He held a pebble from the river in the palm of his hand. "We've connected well in the past. Like the moon and the tides. You've helped me see things for what they are and furthered me on my path to enlightenment. For that, I am forever indebted to you. If there is anything I can assist you with, please tell me and I will do whatever I can to help."

His face was right next to hers. Makoto had to restrain herself from leaning forward and kissing his lips. _"No!"_ she screamed in her mind. _"Defeat him first."_ She clenched her fist and felt as her fingernails tore into the flesh of her hand.

"_I can't let anyone be stronger than me."_

"Yakushiji-Sensei," she was unable to face her beloved rival. "There is something I need from you."

The man dropped the pebble back into the water. It cast a ripple and sank to the bottom. "Yes?"

Makoto stood up in fear that she would not be able to control her actions if she stood next to him.

"I need to fight you."

Yakushiji looked up at her.

She looked down at him and repeated herself. "I need to fight you, no holds barred. To prove to myself that I've improved over the years."

She bowed to him. "I challenge you."

The hawk screeched in the distance and emphasized the man's surprise.

Yakushiji stood to face the girl, his expression somewhat sad.

"I knew this day would come," he said quietly.

The man closed his eyes tightly and bowed to Makoto. "I accept your challenge."

The evening air was thick and humid and the orange light surrounded the sparring ring and the two competitors inside of it. All of the fighters on the mountain had gathered to watch the fight between the two greatest martial artists that had ever graced the dojo with their presence. Despite the morale they both pretended to have, the fighters were unhappy about the challenge.

The mediator, a bald monk in Buddhist robes, signaled the pre-match greeting and stepped out of the ring, leaving the two challengers to begin their match.

"I won't hold back!" Makoto yelled, running forward to attack. She leapt into the air and used a side-kick that Yakushiji was able to dodge.

He thrust a tiger claw at Makoto, who blocked it with her fist. "Neither will I!" he shouted.

The girl sprang forward and thrust a basic punch at the man who ducked and launched a roundhouse kick that would miss Makoto's stomach by an inch. Yakushiji now had the upper hand. He threw a mêlée of well-aimed punches at his challenger. A few of them hit, knocking her backwards.

The fight stopped for a moment and Makoto wiped the sweat from her brow, searching her opponent for a valid weakness. It came to her. Again, she ran forward.

Yakushiji tried to use an elbow thrust on Makoto, but she was behind him before he even got the chance.

"This fight is over!" Makoto declared and chopped the pressure points on the back of Yakushiji's shoulder blades. He gagged and fell headfirst onto the stone surface.

The girl turned to the mediator. The man had a stunned look on his chubby face.

"Begin the countdown." Makoto urged.

The man nodded and put his hands together in a prayer position.

"One. Two. Three. Four…"

Yakushiji gritted his teeth and tried to pull himself up. Makoto took another stance.

"Five. Six. Seven. Eight…"

He pushed himself harder to find that the muscles in his upper body were not working as they should be.

"Nine…" he was able to pull himself into a squatting position but nothing more.

"Ten."

The crowd cheered wildly. Makoto was unable to stop herself from smiling, but bowed honorably to her opponent and offered him a hand.

Yakushiji slowly lifted his head and smiled back at the girl, taking her hand and letting her pull him up to his full height.

"Makoto," he whispered, limping a bit and clutching his shoulder. "I am so proud."

Later that night, the two sat under the waterfall, just as they had done eight years ago while meditating. Yakushiji blushed as the girl massaged his shoulders and shivered as she touched him.

He let the roar of the cascading waterfall speak for him until he found the strength to do it himself.

"You are so strong," he said to her.

She grinned.

Yakushiji blushed wildly and splashed the water with his hand.

"And so beautiful. You make the sun and moon jealous."

Makoto leaned forward and did the very thing she had yearned to do for eight years. Yakushiji put his arms around her and strengthened the kiss. The water crashed down around them, roaring mightily as a lion. When the girl finally pulled away, she found the need for only three words:

"I love you."

Yakushiji pulled her closer and let the lion's roar intensify his vital spirit as he spoke the four most important words of his life.

"I love you too."


	2. Earth and the Moon

Ami couldn't help but smile at Makoto's heartwarming story. She stirred the coffee gently with a straw stirrer while checking the other girls' reactions. Usagi looked as if she was about to cry and Chibiusa and Rei looked touched by the romance that their friend had experienced.

"That was amazing, Mako-chan," Rei said dreamily, her dark eyes shining.

Makoto nodded and took a sip of coffee. "Well, you know…"

Ami agreed with Rei and watched as a young man and woman passed by the café window on the street.

"Hey! Guess what?" Usagi exclaimed, leaning forward eagerly. In her excitement, she accidently knocked over her milkshake but caught it before the contents were spilled.

Rei grabbed her best friend by the shoulder to silence the spasm. "Usagi, calm down, would you?"

Chibiusa put her right hand over her face and sighed heavily.

"I cannot be related to her…"

Usagi scowled at Chibiusa. Her glare was as fierce as Mount Zao's last eruption.

"You owe me your life!"

The princess shrugged and let her eyes stray to the animated city street that lay just feet away, separated only by a sheet of glass.

Makoto laughed good-naturedly. "I'm guessing you want to tell your story next, huh Usagi?"

The blonde girl nodded enthusiastically and began her tale.

"It all started early this morning…."

The alarm rang loudly. Usagi slowly opened her dark blue eyes. Groaning, she hit the snooze button, pulling the blue-striped pillow over her head.

"It's too early," she grumbled.

About five seconds later, she felt something land on her stomach with impressive force. She leaped upward with a jolt and looked frantically to her left and right to see what had fallen on her.

"Usagi!" a familiar voice chimed.

The blonde girl looked down to see none other than Luna, her feline-bodied mentor and former advisor to her mother, Queen Serenity I.

Usagi slammed her fist into the wall in a groggy frustration.

"Damn it, Luna," she growled. "Isn't there a better way to wake me up?"

Luna grinned evilly and showed her sharp claws. "I can think of a few."

Usagi yawned and stretched, cracking her limbs. Absent-mindedly, she donned her fuzzy bunny slippers and walked to the window on the other side of the messy room. She opened it and breathed the cold winter air. Already in a better mood, she returned to the bed where the black cat was sitting.

"Did you need something, Luna?" she coughed tiredly.

The cat jumped from the bed to the floor, landing with a thud onto a pile of folded laundry.

"I have something for you."

With that, the talking feline leaped into the air and spun around. When she had completed her 360, a small, pink envelope had appeared in the air and fluttered down onto the carpeted floor.

Usagi picked it up and opened the front cover. Inside the pocket lay a card that read "Happy Valentine's Day!" with a picture of a sloth on the cover.

The girl disregarded the picture of the sloth and turned to the cat.

"Aw, thanks, Luna!" she beamed, picking the animal up and hugging her.

Luna gagged and freed herself from her student's grip.

"I'm glad you like it," she half-smiled, slightly disappointed that Usagi was not at all angered by the picture of the sloth that was obviously meant to represent her slow, lazy ways.

Usagi stood up and shuffled through the floor's detritus to the closet to find an outfit to wear. She rifled through the clothes until she found what she was searching for: an informal white sweatshirt and blue jeans. As she engaged in the seemingly impossible task of removing the articles of clothing from the hangers while avoiding knocking over the other items in the closet, Luna started up what she hoped would be a casual conversation:

"Hey, Usagi…"

"Hm?" The girl was still focused on extracting the clothes from their hangers.

Luna continued. "What did you get Mamoru for Valentine's Day?"

Usagi froze. The world around her stopped. With a feat of strength, she ripped the outfit down from the hanger and hurriedly threw it on over her pajamas. She bolted down the stairs at the speed of light and grabbed her house keys off of the key ring that hung by the front door.

"I'll be back!" she called up the stairs to Luna.

The cat shook her head in knowing disappointment. She understood the situation.

Usagi flew down the street and into the city's shopping district to buy a present for Mamoru. Frantically she searched the windows for something he might like. In her hurry, she stumbled and tripped over an aluminum can. She moaned and pulled herself up and found that she was facing the window of a dilapidated-looking haberdashery. She was grateful for the convenience of stumbling upon a store for men when she was frantically searching for a present for a man. Brushing the dirt off her sweatshirt, she entered the store and looked around.

"'Haberdashery' is a stupid word…" the girl thought to herself as she skimmed through the merchandise. In a panicked rush, she picked out a leather wallet and brought it to the register, praying that Mamoru would like his gift.

Due to fatigue, Usagi could not run to Mamoru's house as quickly as she had run to the store. The birds around her chirped and egged her on and encouraged her to keep going. But at the same time, they mocked her. She ran until she felt her lungs would explode.

In exhaustion, she collapsed onto the sidewalk. The pavement scratched her forehead.

"How could you be such an idiot, Usagi?" she thought angrily. "How could you forget to get Mamoru a present?"

She tried to pull herself up from the ground, but failed and fell face-first onto the ground.

"Mamoru is your boyfriend. Your true love. The father of your child. How could you just forget him!?"

Her face was pushed farther into the pavement as something struck her in the side. Grunting in pain, she listened as a surprised moan sounded overhead and took note of the sound of a body dropping to the ground next to her.

Usagi could not see the person that had kicked her, as her head was still in the pavement. This did little to stop her frustration.

"Hey!" Her scream was muffled by the cement. "Why don't you watch where you're going!?"

The man pulled himself up and looked down at the road block. His gray eyes widened. Chuckling, he withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow, speaking softly to the human obstruction on the sidewalk.

"Do you need help, Usako?"

Usagi jumped into an upright position on hearing her boyfriend's voice. She threw herself into his arms, breathing normally for the first time since she had left the house.

After she caught her breath, she thrust the leather wallet into Mamoru's hands. He seemed a bit confused by the gesture and sweatdropped.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mamo-chan!" she cried happily.

Mamoru's mouth dropped open, remembering the time he had forgotten Usagi's birthday. He was a simple man. He wanted nothing more than to avoid that old minefield. Was that too much to ask?

Quickly, he tried to fabricate an excuse as to why he had no present to give his girlfriend. Nothing came within five seconds. He knew clandestinely that his time bonus had expired.

"Usako…" he said nervously, watching a car drive by. "I can't lie to you. I forgot that today was Valentine's Day…"

Usagi stifled a grin and pretended to look shocked. In a simulated rage, she turned away from Mamoru, giggling silently.

"I can't believe you." She said with fake anger and seriousness. "You forgot about me…"

Mamoru turned every shade of red. "Usako… I…"

Usagi suppressed a laugh and tried hard to keep her tone serious. To attempt to keep her tone stable, she picked up an aluminum can from the street and crushed it in her palm. "You forgot about me. The mother of your daughter. Your girlfriend. Your Usako…"

Mamoru tore at his black hair with his hands. "I'm so sorry, Usako!"

Usagi released the aluminum can and turned back to Mamoru.

"Well," she said, grinning devilishly. "I guess I can forgive you…"

The man almost went cross-eyed in his confusion.

She moved closer and kissed him.

"Because you're my Mamo-chan."

Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief and returned the kiss.

"And you're my actress…"

A car sped by and splashed the couple with muddy water from a puddle in the street. Oddly, Usagi was soaked but Mamoru remained perfectly dry.

"Stupid karma…" Usagi grumbled.


	3. A Long Recovery

By the end of the story, Chibiusa, Makoto, and Ami were laughing hysterically. Even across the room, Unazuki and Motoki laughed. Rei put her head in her hands and groaned.

"That story was pretty predictable," the raven-haired girl muttered.

Usagi finished her first milkshake and was now nourished enough to engage in an argument with her best friend.

"Oh was it?"

Rei nodded and rubbed the back of her neck. "It was."

Unazuki came back to the girls' table with the pitcher of coffee and refilled Ami and Makoto's cups.

"I think it was sweet," the redheaded waitress remarked. "Do you want more, Rei?" The priestess shook her head.

Usagi rose to challenge the girl who had derided her story. "Fine then, Rei!" she yelled, brandishing a fork as a weapon. "Let's hear your Valentine's Day story. And then we'll let a neutral party decide which was better!"

Rei found Usagi's using an eating utensil as a weapon to be highly comical. Raising her hand to her head in mock exhaustion, she quoted Al Capone.

"'You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word.'"

The priestess winked and wagged her finger. "I'll tell you my story. And it's one hundred percent true."

Usagi regarded her friend impatiently.

Rei playfully flicked Usagi between the eyes and began her romantic anecdote:

"This story should explain why I was in such poor health earlier this year…."

The black-haired priestess swept the steps of her family's shrine. Like always, her thoughts drifted far from her duties as a miko and strayed elsewhere. As the dust on the ground rose and formed a cloud around her feet, her eyes watered and she stopped to think about her relationship with her grandfather's former student, Yuichiro.

Rei and Yuichiro's first meeting hadn't exactly been romantic. Waking up to see a rockstar-looking, inebriated teenage boy sleeping on the steps of your home and then watching him grovel drunkenly at your feet, telling you how beautiful you are and then begging your grandfather for a job (probably so he could watch you every second of every day) lacks charm in so many ways. Rei disliked Yuichiro at first, seeing him as a spastic playboy with only thing in mind. She had assured herself that he thought he'd put on the charm and have her eating out of his hands within the fortnight. She'd thought he'd be gone within the week after seeing that she wasn't interested in him.

But she had been wrong. Under his unimpressive exterior, Yuichiro was a complex person. He came from a wealthy family and had run away after an ongoing argument with his parents over taking control of the family business. After meeting Rei's grandfather, he decided that he would try to achieve spiritual enlightenment and become a Shinto priest. Over time, Rei found that his intentions of staying at the Hikawa Shrine were pure and warmed up to him considerably.

Yuichiro had proven his devotion to her by risking his life to protect her after she was attacked by Koan, a Phantom Sister and an enemy of Rei's. As the blue flames of Koan's attack singed the boy's back, an even hotter flame ignited within Rei's body. After that day, the priestess felt a new emotion whenever she was in his presence. She had been hit with the blind bowboy's arrow and began to stumble, falling more in love with Yuichiro every time the sun set and rose. For three years, she felt the unprecedented sentiment rage on and on and let herself fall deeper and deeper in love's freefall acceleration until she was head over heels for the once-awkward, brave boy. When she finally admitted this to him, he was both stunned and elated. Without a second thought, he declared his undying love for her. And for the short time that followed, they were a happy couple.

But it had ended too soon. One Valentine's Day, Priest Hino had entered Yuichiro's room without knocking and accidently witnessed the man caressing the curves of his granddaughter's body. The old man buckled with rage and immediately disowned his pupil, banishing him from the Hikawa Shrine forever. Rei was infuriated with her grandfather and refused to speak to him for months. Every night after Yuichiro's forced departure, she would sit on the steps where she had first seen him and begin to cry silently. Yuichiro was the first and only person the Warrior of Mars would ever shed real tears for.

Priest Hino began to worry about Rei's health. Since the old man banished his wayward student, the girl had lost a substantial amount of weight. At first he thought that perhaps it was a body image issue. Something she would overcome it with therapy and praise. But the raven-haired girl refused the therapy and rejected his praise, becoming thinner and sicker each day. She was wasting away.

The day the concerned priest had feared finally came. One morning while she was sweeping the steps of the shrine, she collapsed face first into the ground. Panicking, the priest called an ambulance. He stayed by his granddaughter's side on the way to the hospital. As the old man rode in the back of the speeding vehicle, witnessing the paramedics press the defibrillator to the young girl's chest, he almost had a heart attack himself.

"She's so young…" he whispered in anguish.

He clenched his right fist. He used his left hand to claw at his face with his fingernails.

"That should be me…"

Hours later, the old man sat in the hospital waiting room, nervously awaiting the news of the surgeon that had examined his granddaughter. Nothing could distract him from his worry. Not the modestly-priced food in the vending machine, not the beautiful young nurses. Nothing.

After another hour of pacing and chewing his cuticles until the flesh bled, the doctor, an attractive woman with short bluish-black hair and an identity badge that read "Sakiko Mizuno, M.D." emerged into the waiting room. Priest Hino recognized her as the mother of one of his granddaughter's closest friends, Ami Mizuno.

The old man rushed forward to meet the doctor, not caring that his geta sandals were scratching the white tile floor.

"How is she?" he asked frenetically. "Is she all right?"

The doctor checked her clipboard for comfort and nodded. "She'll be okay," the woman said apologetically. "Your granddaughter suffered a mild myocardial infarction. It looks like it was caused from malnutrition. Right now she's being force-fed through an I.V."

Priest Hino's heart sank at the thought of the self-reliant Rei depending on a machine to survive.

Dr. Mizuno thumbed through her clipboard again and continued speaking somberly. "We've diagnosed Rei with anorexia nervosa. Tell me, is she insecure about her body image?"

The old man shook his head and wiped his bleeding cuticles on his white kimono. "She never has been superficial like that."

"No?" the doctor looked confused. "Do you not think it's anorexia?"

The red bloodstain on the priest's clothes began to turn brown. "I don't."

Dr. Mizuno pushed for further information. "Do you have any idea as to what it might be then?"

His heart knew the true answer but his brain chose to disregard it. He nodded at the doctor's question and trembled, praying silently to the gods.

"May I visit her?" he asked quietly.

Dr. Mizuno nodded and led the old man to room #340 where Rei was resting.

"Try not to make any loud noises," she whispered as she closed the door on the grandfather and his granddaughter. The priest tried to respond with an affirmative, but Dr. Mizuno had shut the door and left the room before he had the chance to.

He walked over to the bed where the raven-haired girl lay. A feeling of pained fatigue overcame him as he saw the I.V. in his granddaughter's arm and the breathing apparatus on her face. He put his hand atop of hers to feel it was cold as clay. Then again, the cold feeling could have been his own.

"Rei…" he choked. "Tell me this didn't happen because of what my instinct says it did."

He threw himself onto the ground.

"Tell me this wasn't my doing."

The old man broke down and cried, his sobs as audible as the sounds from the breathing apparatus strapped to Rei's face.

A soft moan emanated from the girl. It seemed to come and go with the wind. The old man fell silent so he may hear what his granddaughter said.

"Y-yy…" she breathed softly.

The old man leaned forward intently.

The girl's expression became one of pure frustration. She muttered the peculiar sound just little louder. The old man tightened his grip on her hand.

Tears began to flow from the raven-haired girl's closed eyes. Priest Hino was in shock. He had never seen Rei cry so hard. Neither the death of her mother, nor her father's abandonment of her had ever produced as much tears as she cried at that moment.

The girl was finally able to pronounce all four syllables of the word she had tried so desperately to communicate earlier. Her tone was pitiful in its sadness.

"Yuichiro…"

Upon hearing the dreaded words his heart had screamed at him earlier, the old man tore at the flesh of his face. His eyes clouded by tears, he frantically scanned the hospital room for discarded needles, an electrical outlet, a sharp surgical knife, an unguarded bottle of medicine, anything that would bring his life to an end. He circled the room like a madman, groaning as he found nothing lethal. In anguish, he dropped to his granddaughter's bedside, crying hysterically.

"I'm… sorry… Rei," he hiccupped between sobs. "I'm… so sorry. I promise that I'll make… things right again…"

A few days passed and Rei still slept. Dr. Mizuno had long since removed the breathing apparatus from her face, but she simply did not have the strength to get up. It may have been the motivation she lacked. Her heart had recovered physically, but it was forever scarred.

Outside of Rei's room, the receptionist's counter was crowded with people. The receptionist tried to remain calm, but the people came in floods. She answered everyone's questions and tried to keep the line moving as quickly as possible.

A red-eyed balding man stepped up to the desk. "I'm looking for Noguchi," he said sadly.

The receptionist checked her clipboard.

"Keiko Noguchi?"

"Takeshi Noguchi."

"Room #337. Next."

The man thanked her and walked toward his friend's room.

A woman and a little girl stepped forward. "I'd like to see Hiromi Tanaka, please."

The receptionist nodded and thumbed through the pages of the clipboard.

"Room #289," she said.

The woman smiled thankfully and pulled her daughter away.

"Are we gonna see Grandma?" the little girl asked. The mother nodded happily.

The next customer in line smiled at the girl's innocence and then stepped forward himself.

"Rei Hino?" he asked.

The receptionist looked the man up and down. He was rugged and unkempt with tight-fitting clothes and a guitar case strapped to his back. Normally she would have had a few questions for someone who looked that shady, but time did not seem to allow for an interrogation.

"Hey, come on!" the next person in line screamed.

The receptionist nodded irately and gave the young man the information he had requested earlier. "Room #340." she muttered.

"Thanks." the long-haired boy said half-heartily.

In room #340, the priestess rested, half-conscious but breathing properly. The door opened and the young man stepped into the room slowly. Upon seeing the I.V. in the girl's arm, a rush of worry hit him and he ran to the girl's side. It looked serious. He had only been informed that she was in the hospital. He didn't know of the details.

The boy leaned down next to her and held her hand. The agony in his eyes was almost palpable. He spoke to her.

"Rei?" he said and repeated himself a little louder. The I.V. in her arm scared him a good deal.

"Rei, are you all right?" he asked anxiously, his eyes welling with tears.

The girl's soft murmur sounded.

"Yuichiro..."

Yuichiro breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over his priestess's face. She had become so thin. The boy moved closer and kissed her lips.

"Rei," he whispered. "I love you."

For the first time in four days, the raven-haired girl opened her eyes. When she did, she was greeted by the most beautiful sight she could ever have hoped to wake up to.

She smiled and sat upright. "Yuichiro," she beamed, her eyes overflowing with joy.

Yuichiro took her into his arms, holding her tightly. "Thank gods," he muttered.

Rei pulled his head closer to hers and kissed his lips again.

After a moment, the boy loosened his grip on the girl. In response, she pulled his arms around her again and shook her head.

"Don't let go," she breathed.

Yuichiro grinned and remembered the last words of wisdom Priest Hino had given him: "I approve."

He held Rei even tighter.

"I won't," he whispered.


	4. The Future Monarchs

By the end of Rei's story, the other four Sailor Warriors were speechless. This time, Usagi actually did cry. She melted into a blubbering puddle in the restaurant booth, grabbing hold of Rei's arm.

"I'm sorry, Rei!" she wailed into the sleeve of her best friend's sweater.

Rei looked down at her, embarrassed. Slowly and gently, she pried the weeping lump off of her shoulder.

"It's okay…" the black-haired girl assured, handing her friend the chocolate milkshake in a motherly way. "Just take a sip…"

Usagi followed the priestess's orders.

"And relax."

The blonde relaxed quite a bit, leaning back onto the booth's comfortable upholstery, milkshake in hand. Rei smiled at her dumb friend.

"Feel better?" she queried. Usagi nodded.

Chibiusa put her own milkshake down and grinned mockingly at her mother.

"I have to say," she smirked. "I liked Rei's story a lot better."

Usagi glared at her younger look-alike.

"I mean, it was a lot deeper. And definitely a lot more romantic."

The princess nudged Makoto. "What do you think, Mako-chan? Rei's was better, wasn't it?"

Jupiter opened a packet of Equal and poured the contents into her coffee cup. "Leave me out of this," she mumbled.

Chibiusa looked at Ami for backup. The genius girl held up both hands in a neutral stance. "I liked both stories," she said quietly, her desire to avoid conflict apparent.

Usagi looked at Chibiusa threateningly. "Fine!" she said defiantly. "Let's hear _your_ story!"

Chibiusa turned away sheepishly and put her hands in the pockets of her blue skirt. Usagi used the momentary ceasefire to her advantage.

"You don't _have_ a story, do you?" she sneered.

The princess finished her milkshake before answering her mother's challenge.

"I _do_ have a story." she said quietly.

Usagi raised one eyebrow and leaned back in her seat.

"You're a kid," she said, trying to deny that Chibiusa was in fact growing up. "What kind of story can you possibly have?"

Chibiusa glared at Usagi. "I'm seventeen!" she retorted. "I'm not a kid! If you haven't noticed, I've been in a serious relationship for a few years now."

Usagi looked sadly at the teenager in front of her. "I know."

She put a hand to her daughter's head, stroking her oddly-colored hair. "Maybe I just _want_ you to be a kid."

The three remaining Senshi knew that they were witnessing an occurrence about as common as a solar eclipse: a sentimental moment between Usagi and Chibiusa. Whether these moments ever occurred when the two were alone was a possibility, but public displays of affection between the members of the Tsukino family were extremely rare.

Chibiusa wiped the smile off her face and replaced it with an artificial teenage scowl. She jerked her head away and rolled her eyes. "Do you want me to tell my story or not?"

Rei placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, telling her that she admired her guts. "Enlighten us."

Chibiusa tore a paper napkin in her hands.

"My story is short, but it's better than Usagi's. Earlier this morning, I went to the park…."

The princess sat on the park bench, facing the sun. She had just barely worked up the courage to come. Her insides felt like gelatin. Today would be the most important day of her life. Turning her head, she watched a bluebird extract worms from the ground and carry them up with her into a small nest at the top of a black ash tree. Chibiusa couldn't hear the shrill chirps of the baby birds begging their mother for the freshly-caught insect. All she could hear was the sound of her pulse, throbbing with excitement.

Her head pounded on for another moment until she saw a familiar multicolored blur in the distance. The blur had been the flapping wings of Chibiusa's elf boyfriend, Peruru. The boy gracefully descended to the ground and looked around the field, trying to locate the Princess who had summoned him. The wild and goofy smile never left his face.

Chibiusa rushed over to him, letting her shoes absorb the moisture from the grass below her feet. Peruru did not notice her until she was only feet away from him. He opened his arms wide and allowed the girl to fall onto his body as she ran closer.

Chibiusa closed her arms around the boy's abdomen and felt the warmth of his hands as they wrapped around her back, pulling her closer. The princess loved being held by her boyfriend. It didn't used to be that way. Until Peruru's growth spurt a year ago, he had been about a head shorter than her. It had always felt a little awkward for Chibiusa to hug a boy who might as well have been in elementary school. But nature had graciously corrected this problem and turned the childlike Peruru into an adult almost overnight. Chibiusa loved Peruru for who he was but it certainly didn't hurt that she had grown physically attracted to him as well.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" the princess chimed happily, pulling away from the silver-haired boy.

Peruru grinned and played a note on his white glass flute. The second he did this, a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, and a pink envelope appeared out of nowhere and landed in the hands of the surprised princess.

"I never will understand how you make things appear out of thin air like that…" she said quietly, looking down at the gifts Peruru had brought her.

"Magic," the elf-boy said matter-of-factly, holding up the flute. "Simple as that."

Chibiusa grinned along with her boyfriend. A truck drove by in the distance, bringing her back to reality.

The princess kicked a rock by her shoe. "Peruru?" she began.

The susurration of the cold wind muffled the boy's words. "Yeah?"

Chibiusa waited for the noise to die down before continuing. "I have to talk to you about something…" she took her boyfriend's hand and led him over to the bench she had sat at earlier.

The couple sat. The boy shivered violently in the wind. Chibiusa moved closer to him to keep him warm. "You should have worn a jacket," she muttered. Peruru nodded.

"Anyway," the princess continued. "We have to talk about something important."

Peruru twirled the glass flute in his hand. "What's on your mind?"

The girl put her hands in her pockets and closed her eyes as the wind ripped through her body.

"You know that I'm the heiress to the throne of Crystal Tokyo…"

The boy nodded.

"And you know that my eighteenth birthday is in just a few months…"

Another nod.

Chibiusa inhaled deeply and stood up.

"Someday I'll be the queen of an entire kingdom."

She repeated this more for her own sake than the boy's. She still couldn't believe that she would someday rule one of Earth's most powerful states.

She turned to face the sun again. "It's a huge responsibility. I mean, even being the princess is difficult…"

Peruru listened intently, not entirely sure where this was going.

"I'll be the queen. In charge of a whole kingdom" she said yet again, seeming to believe it even less. "And I can't do it alone. I don't think I'm capable…"

The silver-haired boy leaned forward. "You won't be alone," he remarked. "You'll have plenty of advisors. Like Luna and Artemis and Diana. They can help you out."

Chibiusa shrugged. "I guess I'll have them," she looked at the brown grass below her feet. "But _I'll_ be the supreme ruler…"

Peruru stood up and put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "That's really bothering you, isn't it?" he said worriedly.

Chibiusa nodded. "I'm scared," she whispered. "And I don't want to do it alone."

The princess covered her head with her hands.

"I don't want to make all the decisions of a queen. I want to rule alongside someone else. Someone I love. The king of Crystal Tokyo."

She pulled herself together and turned to face Peruru, looking straight into his pure green eyes.

"I want you to be my king, Peruru…" she said softly.

Peruru's eyes widened. "You mean?"

Chibiusa stood on her toes and kissed him. She stroked his thick hair and whispered in his ear.

"Will you marry me?"

The boy's wild grin broke out again. His expression was more crazy than ever. He picked the princess up in his arms and spun her around.

Chibiusa furrowed her brow as the world spun around her. "I take it that means 'yes?'"

Peruru released her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Yes."

The princess shook the dizziness off and threw herself into the soon-to-be prince's arms. He held her tightly.

"This _is_ a happy Valentine's Day."

Usagi nearly fainted. Rei caught her before she fell.

"You're getting married!?" she sputtered in disbelief.

Chibiusa grinned challengingly. "That's right. I'm getting married before you."

Makoto held the princess's arm in the air in a triumphant guts pose. "You've done it!" she said happily. "Congratulations!"

Ami looked teasingly at Usagi. "It's not common that a child can honestly say that she was married before her parents."

Usagi blushed and hid her face in the milkshake cup.

Rei patted the princess on the back. "So when's the wedding?" she asked.

Chibiusa sneezed into the paper napkin before answering. "June 30th." she responded. "My birthday."

Makoto stretched out tiredly. "Too bad Minako isn't here." she muttered. "I'm sure she'd already be planning every single wedding detail right down to what brand of tuxedo Peruru would wear and what store he would rent it from."

Ami chuckled and took a sip of coffee. "Isn't Minako dating Peruru's brother?"

Rei grinned at Chibiusa. "If they got married, you and Mina would be sisters!"

Makoto turned to Usagi and elbowed her. "You're going to be a mother-in-law," she taunted.

Usagi remained white as a sheet. "A wha…?" she stammered.


	5. Aqua Rhapsody

It had been hours after the friends had left the café and went their separate ways. The day had disappeared along with the short evening and the darkness now had full control over the atmosphere. Ami sat motionless at her computer desk. Having completed her work, she had time to think about the day's events.

All of her friends had spoken of their experiences with love. Ami could barely imagine what they must have felt like. She envied them.

The girl stood up from the desk and got herself a glass of water in the kitchen. Envy was part of the price she paid for sacrificing her love for her studies. She had chosen work over her boyfriend, Ryo. And she hated herself for it.

Ami and Ryo had once been a serious relationship. The boy was completely devoted to Ami. They had even spoken of marriage once or twice. They were perfect for each other. They shared common interests, values, political views, and intellect. In the words of Minako, they had been "made for each other."

When Ami was accepted into medical school, the amount of time she spent with Ryo decreased considerably. He tried hard to keep the relationship from falling apart, but Ami no longer had time for romance. The two eventually drifted, causing Ryo to move back to Shinagawa and leave Ami to her studies in Jyuban. It was not a decision he had wanted to make, but he had seen no other option. He truly believed that he was hindering Ami's studies and making her upset.

Ami sat down on the floor and covered her head with her hands. She had thrown her possible future with Ryo away for a textbook and the title of "Dr." A lifetime of happiness and love for a lifetime of work with an honorific in front of her name. It was the stupidest thing she had ever done

The Warrior of Knowledge gripped the textbook harshly and threw it to the ground. The thick book's sound upon hitting the floor caused the goldfish in the bowl across the room to swim away wildly and take shelter behind the plastic sea anemone in the center of their home.

"What have I done?" she moaned.

Without a second thought, she picked up the phone on her desk and dialed her ex-boyfriend's number. The phone rang four times, but no one on the other side answered. Ami angrily hit the receiver and lay down on her bed.

She pulled the covers over her head.

"Ryo," she said quietly. "Please forgive me…"

She was awoken hours later by a knock on the door. Slowly, she pulled herself out of bed and stumbled down the stairs to the front door.

She opened the door and let her mouth drop open at the convenient timing of her visitor. In the flesh stood Ryo Urawa, the love of her life. The moonlight behind him reflected off of his brown hair and made his face glow handsomely.

"Ryo…" she was stunned.

Ryo smiled nervously and took the girl's hand. The lights of the city flared around him.

The psychic boy began to speak. "Earlier today I had a vision of a phone call from you. In your call, you sounded upset. You apologized for letting our relationship deteriorate and told me that you wanted to get back together."

Ami closed her eyes. "Can you forgive me?" she asked.

Ryo nodded. "I already have."

She stepped closer to him. The sound of a fire engine in the distance started up and died down within the same minute. He leaned over and kissed her.

"Do you want to get back together?" he asked pensively.

Ami smiled. "Yes."

Ryo took her hand and kissed it. The artificial city lights were nothing compared to the light of the full moon.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ami."


End file.
